Architecture of a Mom: November 2012

Month in Review--November 2012

4:11:00 PM

Menu Planning Monday 2012-11-25

8:13:00 PM

This little Christmas wreath has some awesome rustic and glam vibes going on! I love how the silver and glitter contrasts with the hemp and grape vines. It was super easy and amazingly inexpensive to put together.

This is my first Christmas craft that I want to share with you, and I have to admit that it is a bit random in how it came together. It all started when I was wandering through the clearance section of Michaels back in September, I think it was. I first found these letters for $.50. What a great deal, I thought. Then I found these stars. There wasn’t a price tag on them, but when I did a price check on them, I found out that they were $.25…what! So I grabbed all they had. Then my sister mentioned that she had some grape vine wreaths that I could have that she and her kids had made on a field trip to a farm, so I accepted them graciously…without a clue what to do with them.

Then comes the super crazy part. At a local church’s fall festival they had a guess how many is in the jar contest. My sister told me, “Oh, you’re good at that, why don’t you try to win?” I was going to enter anyway, but that put the pressure on…and I was pretty sure she jinxed me by saying such a thing. But amazingly, I won…a $20 gift card to Walmart. So I bought craft supplies that I wouldn’t normally have sprung for because I try to keep my crafting budget to a minimum, but I’ve been dying to try: Krylon’s Looking Glass Paint, Krylon’s Glitter Blast Paint, and Mod Podge. So you should be on the lookout for some crafts using them in the next little while. Anyway, so the Glitter Blast I used on this project was free-to-me, too.

In addition, I use ribbon (about $1 worth), and craft paint that I already had on hand.

Yep. Some of you are probably totaling this up in your heads. $2.75 for a Christmas wreath. Promise. This is the lesson for today: if you don’t have a big budget for crafting, always shop off season in the clearance sections, accept random craft items from family members, and always listen to the promptings of your little sister to enter contests J

Anyway, if you’re interested in how this came together, here it goes:

I painted the wood letters with craft paint. Note that in my experience, the metallic craft paint takes about twice as many layers as the regular paint to get the coverage and sheen that I desire.

I painted the star with the Glitter Blast.

I had some problems with the paint continuing to spray even when I wasn’t pushing on the nozzle. It kept spluttering. I probably spent about 10 minutes trying to get the can to stop spraying. I have read online here that this is a fairly common problem. It made it difficult to get an even coat. However, I really love the look and I hope that Krylon gets everything figured out. I don't have pictures of the painting process because I was fighting the nozzle and had glitter spray all over my hands.

I used the hemp string that was originally what the star was hanging on at the store to hang the star onto the wreath. Then I created the bow by first creating an accordion with most of the ribbon:

And then wrapping the remaining ribbon around the center and tying it into an overhand knot.

I fastened the star to the grapevine wreath with the piece of hemp it was sold on and then added the ribbon to the wreath. Can I just say that I am proud of my niece (who just turned 9!) that made this awesome wreath? Thanks, sweetie, for sharing your craftiness!

Then we were ready to attach the letters. I took some narrow ribbon and glued the letters to it. I would suggest that you use masking or painters tape to attach the letters at first (which is what I did) to make sure you like the spacing and orientation. I tried a horizontal orientation to the word "joy" but didn't like it. Then use your glue of choice to permanently attach it.

And there you have it...my first Christmas project of the season!!

Sometimes I link up at the following places: 504 Main, A Diamond in the Stuff, AKA Design, Alderberry Hill, At the Picket Fence, Beyond the Picket Fence, Blessed with Grace, Cheerios & Lattes, Cherished Bliss, Classy Clutter, C.R.A.F.T., Craft-o-maniac, Crafty Scrappy Happy, Eat at Home, Finding Fabulous, For Rent's Home For the Holidays, Gingersnap Crafts, Glued to My Crafts, Home Stories A to Z, House of Hepworths, I Heart Naptime, It's So Very Cheri, Lil Luna, Lines Across, Live Laugh Rowe, Made in a Day, My Favorite Finds, Not Just a Housewife, One Creative Mommy, Organizing Junkie, Positively Splendid, Semi Homemade Mom, Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Six Sisters Stuff, So I Married a Craft Blogger, Someday Crafts, Sugarbee Crafts, Tatertots & Jello, The 36th Avenue, The CSI Project,The Finer Things in Life, The Frugal Girls, The Grant Life, The Shabby Nest, Tidy Mom, Today's Creative Blog, Uncommon Designs, and Under the Table and Dreaming.

I also linked to the Countdown to Winter Party @ Sand and Sisal! Check it out for more Christmas Ideas!